Maintaining query....how do you work out how much to eat???

So this may seem a little ambitious lol as i still have 42lbs to lose BUT im just wandering how you know how many calories to eat when your maintaining?

Do you just eat by your burn meter allowance?

So if i weigh 140lbs and im 5 ft 5 do i just put that in the burn meter and eat that many calories??

Or do you still minus a few kcals off it and go with that and what happens with the exercise do you eat those calories or use them as a deficit or is the idea that you have no deficit?

ARRRGH lol, thanks guys...(sorry if i rambled eek)  :0))

xx

To maintain

eat as much as you burn

If you exercise, you'll burn more, so then you eat more.

Maintenance = no deficit.

Yeah, to maintain you eat what you burn, so if you exercise you eat more. BUT, if you're trying to lose read what is on your burn meter and and I believe you minus 500 to lose about a pound a week. When I joined CC I was maintaining, so I don't know if there is a setting or something where it automatically does it, but I'm pretty sure you should eat 500 less or exercise to burn 500 calories and not make up for it (like if you were maintaining). Good luck!

Also, as with weight loss, I`ve found that zig zagging calories is a good idea, and unavoidable if you`re trying to acquire an intuitive eater mindset (which is the ultimate maintaining goal, IMHO). Meaning, if an average adult eats 2000 cals/day to maintain, it`s perfectly alright to eat 1500 one day and 2500 the next. Ideally, this should not be done consciously, but rather you should be paying attention to your body`s correct appetite signals. If you`ve been undereating for a while, you should feel rather ravenous at some point, and if you`ve been overeating a lot, you`ll most likely not feel that hungry and go for lighter meals.

Of course, this takes a LOT of time, patience and determination to master. At least for me it`s sometimes hard to separate the signals that come from new, healthy habits from the ones that come from an improper upbringing. But I`m still learning and improving myself, albeit painstakingly slowly. *sigh*

When I finally  starting maintaining (which I did perfectly for around 6 weeks), I went to several sites and sort of averaged my calorie burn estimates based on BMR, Activity Level, etc. 

I strongly reccommend that you log (if you have the time) all your calories consumed accurately.  Also, weigh at least once a day at the same approximate time each day.

In a short amount of time, a few days, it became clear to me that I could take in such and such calories if I did such and such amount of exercise and I would maintain.

I did the same thing with logging my weight loss.  I, and many others, have found that accurate logging of calories consumed and daily weigh-ins (well, many others suggest weekly weigh-ins for weight loss) make weight-loss and maintenance much easier to achieve.

In my Gallery are some examples of charts I kept while losing and maintaining.

While I technically still have 3 Ibs to loose,once I reach my goal I do still plan to keep a small deficit of about 50 to 100 calories daily.  Of course some days I may go over but I don't ever want to find myself wondering how I got back here (over weight) again. Three years ago I weighed close to 170.  In April I joined here at 136.  I have come to far to fall back.  I am so excited to be actually talking about maintaining my goal weight!!  Yippee!

Good stuff thanks a million guys - you may laugh but im like 42lbs away from my goal lol!!

Bless me hahaha

But im very positive and no doubt in my mind i will reach my goal so i was just wandering how many kcals il be living off to maintain which according to the calculator lol it'l be about 1900 - seems LOADS, im currently on 1500 but thats another thing im pleased about i thought it may be less than now but the fact its more has only made this seem more achievable!

Thanks a million for your responses.  Would love to know more about your journies?? You've all clearly done extremely well.  Just so you get some insight into me (my food logs and positives are all in my journal) im 22 y/o female, CW 182lbs, GW 140lbs, I'm 5 ft 5 and im eating 1500 a day exercising in the gym 5 days a week (5 days cardio, 3 days weights) kickboxing 1-2 a week, walking 1-2 a week and horse riding 1-2 a week and i generally have saturdays off from any such exercise....although may go walking but nothin too strenuos lol

ANGLEJ

I feel your glory WELL DONE!!!!!....and good idea with the small deficit, ive been here too many times and im defo NOT doing it again-lifestyle change all the way.

OH btw all im weighing once a month....dont want this to be a week on week challenge and to be honest its really given me the freedom to just see this as a lifestyle change! Best thing i did was give up the weekly weigh in

PILGRIMDUDE

Thanks for cal counting advice will prob defo do this just so i know where i am etc however dont think il do the weighing thing, defo not daily anyway.  But we're all different right.  Too much weighing turns me extremely obsessed and in turn very unhealthy with my thoughts and practices.

ILY51

gonna DEFO DEFO take this on board, zigzagging on maintenance does definitely sound like a plan....much so like normal life really like you say.  It's sp nice to know that once you reach your goal maintenance isnt all about hitting that one level day in day out n if you go over ooops you may be heading for a gain kinda thing. So im up for zigzaggin lol!

Thanks again to you all xxx

"Too much weighing turns me extremely obsessed and in turn very unhealthy with my thoughts and practices."

Excellent point!  It' s important that you know that!  I think it shows that you will definitely make your goals.  You know yourself and what is best for you.

Best of luck in all things, especially in achieving your goals!